


The Pirates! In an adventure with Yu-Gi-Oh!

by Cupckeshrk8D



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Amir has no respect for Ryou's personal space, Canon-Typical Violence, Let me know if you think anything else should be tagged, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ryou is damseled (But not for long)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23686828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cupckeshrk8D/pseuds/Cupckeshrk8D
Summary: Set in an alternate universe that's basically modern day with a golden age of piracy coat of paint slapped on top, Atem and Yugi Muto are twin brothers and captains in the royal navy. They’re friends with Ryou, a bartender in Domino, and they often tell him stories of their fights with the Pirate King Tozokou. Unbeknownst to the Mutos, “Tozokou” is actually Ryou’s supposedly dead twin brother, Bakura. When Ryou gets kidnapped by the dread pirate Amir, Bakura and his boyfriend/first mate Malik find themselves in a race against the royal navy to see who can rescue him first.
Relationships: Yami Bakura/Marik Ishtar, unrequited Yugi Muto/Ryou Bakura
Kudos: 12





	1. Like Asking What Color the Sky Was

It wasn’t a particularly busy night at the tavern, but Ryou had seen the familiar ship pulling into the docks this morning, so he knew it wouldn’t be long before people started pouring in through the front doors. He glanced up from the glass he was polishing to see that they were, in fact, arriving just now. The Muto brothers sat themselves down at the bar, a big smile on Yugi’s face and the usual look of tired frustration on Atem’s.

“So how’s it going? Any exciting stories to tell?”

He looked towards Atem, sensing that he had something to vent about. After all, he usually did.

“The Pirate King’s evaded us once again.”

Passing the two their usual drinks, Ryou signaled for him to continue.

“We’d stopped to resupply before we headed back to Domino when we ran into him. We went to Burger Admiral for lunch, and there he was standing in front of a fan so that his jacket dramatically waved behind him, yelling at some random employee for giving him the wrong size fries.”

Atem paused to take a sip of his drink.

“The most feared pirate in the world, screaming at a teen in a fast food restaurant. It’s infuriating that he manages to do stuff like that and still avoids getting caught.”

He sighed, and Yugi turned to reassure him.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get him soon. Next time we’re here it’ll be to celebrate the arrest of Tozokou!”

Ryou smiled softly, refilling Atem’s now empty glass.

“Yeah, and I’ll be here to listen to how the great Captains Muto finally defeated their rival.”

He grinned, and Atem smiled too.

“Anything else to report, Captains?”

Yugi blushed awkwardly.

“You don’t have to call us that. We’ve been for friends for how long?”

“It’s been about five years now. We met shortly after—”

He stopped, not wanting to talk about it. Yugi looked at him, concerned.

“Oh yeah, … your brother, he died, didn’t he?”

He nodded, not wanting to explain it out loud. It was easier to lie when he didn’t say it directly.

He’d been sixteen when he’d gotten in an argument with his twin brother. Bakura had wanted to see the world, he wasn’t content with just staying at the tavern with their father for his entire life, he’d wanted to go places, to have a life that actually meant something. His brother ran off in the middle of the night, and was never seen again. After a month they decided he must have died. But Ryou knew better. Rumors spread quickly of a mysterious pirate with messy long hair and icy blue eyes that stared into your soul, the Pirate King, Tozokou. And when you keep hearing about a pirate who showed up out of nowhere around the time your brother disappeared who happens to look a lot like you, it doesn’t take much to put two and two together.

The conversation around them was loud and energetic, while the three merely stood in awkward silence. Ryou gripped the counter to keep his balance, to stay focused, to hide his complicated feelings surrounding the Pirate King. He was mad at Bakura, and he’d done horrible things, but the thought of his brother being arrested made him queasy. Yugi looked up at him, which, considering the height difference was the only way he could look at Ryou. He smiled nervously, and attempted to change the subject away from Ryou’s “dead” brother.

“So it turns out the rumors are true.”

Grateful for the attempt to restart the conversation, Ryou did his best to look intrigued.

“Oh, which ones?”

He smiled, burying his worries and causing Yugi to grin.

“That the Ishtars got into a fight and Malik joined up with Tozokou!”

Atem nodded, sipping his drink as he watched Yugi excitedly explain to Ryou.

“At Burger Admiral we tried to stop Tozokou, figuring it’d be easy, you know? Two against one, the rest of his crew was nowhere to be seen, it should have been a piece of cake. Emphasis on the should have. Atem drew his sword and then Malik showed up out of nowhere. The two fled before we could react, but at least we were able save that poor employee.”

He paused, taking a breath.

“From the things he said, it’s pretty clear they’ve been working together for a while.”

Atem grimaced, clearly still frustrated at his inability to defeat the two pirates.

“And having to deal with the two of them will just make it even harder to catch Tozokou.”

Yugi gave a comforting smile to his brother, as he was usually the more optimistic of the two.

“Yeah, but that also means that when we catch one, we also get the other!”

Ryou briefly turned away from the two to pass a glass to one of the other members of the Royal Navy. He sighed, wondering how to turn the conversation away from his brother’s capture.

“So Malik’s one Ishtar, who’s the other?”

Yugi slammed his glass down onto the bar in surprise, a look of astonishment on his face.

“How have you never heard of Amir? We must have told you at some point, right?”

Ryou gulped, that probably wasn’t the best question to ask. Considering how many times the Mutos had talked about him, it was like asking what color the sky was. He shrugged, an embarrassed grin on his face.

“I guess I just … forgot?”

Atem sighed, looking like he was resisting the urge to facepalm.

“Well, the Ishtars were the most feared pirate captains in the world, until Tozokou showed up. Everyone could recognize their flag, a standard skull and crossbones that was permanently stained with blood. Amir and Malik looked almost identical, the only differentiating features being Amir’s eyepatch and messier hair. But personality wise, the two are complete opposites. Amir’s loud and very quick to anger. He does things for seemingly no reason, presumably just because he likes to make others suffer as much as possible. He doesn’t just kill people, he leaves their broken, mangled bodies in the street as a warning to others. Malik’s calmer, less quick to jump straight to murder and you’d think that would mean he’s not that bad, right? But in reality he’s so good at hiding his emotions that by the time you realise you’ve made him mad, it’s far too late.”

He shivered, taking a sip of his drink. Ryou turned his attention back towards his work, unsure what to say. Yugi paused, hesitating in an attempt to hold back tears.

“They’re absolutely terrifying, but that’s part of why I joined the navy. So I could stop people like them.”

His grip on his glass tightening, he laughed and wiped his tears away with his sleeve.

“They fought with Tozokou a lot when he first showed up. Their battles usually resulted in ties, especially with the Pirate King’s tendency to flee the moment the navy showed up.”

He paused, emptying his glass.

“And then they just sort of disappeared off the map for a bit. Everyone had their own theories, but the most popular rumors were the ones that said that Malik and Tozokou had teamed up.”

Yugi sighed, looking away from Ryou.

“What happened to Amir?”

Yugi shrugged.

“No one knows. He hasn’t been seen for about a year now.”

Atem looked up towards them.

“I don’t think he’s dead. Someone like Amir couldn’t have just died without anyone knowing. He’s probably just laying low or something.”

He slammed his hand down on the countertop to emphasise his point.

“Amir’s still out there somewhere. I can feel it.”

At this point a blonde man walked up to the bar, tapping Atem on the shoulder to get his attention. Atem put his glass down and spun around to face him.

“Jonouchi?”

The man, who was apparently named Jonouchi, leaned in to whisper something to him.

“Um, e'veway otgay ayay ituationsay.”

Atem looked at him, raising one eyebrow in confusion.

“What? Why are you talking like that?”

Jonouchi’s eyes attempted to subtly point towards Ryou. It was possibly the least subtle attempt to point something out that Ryou had ever seen, but it’s the thought that counts.

“ecausebay iyay on'tday antway otay iscloseday oyalray avynay ecretssay inyay ontfray ofyay ethay artenderbay, unlikeyay _omesay_ eoplepay.”

“Huh? What are you saying? I don’t understand you.”

As Ryou stood there trying to figure out what Jounochi was saying, he couldn’t help but admire Jonouchi’s commitment to the pig latin. Though he really should have given up, as Atem didn’t have any idea what Jonouchi was doing. Luckily for Atem, his brother was apparently fluent in pig latin, and proceeded to elbow him in the ribs.

“You know, we should really get going, _Atem_.”

The two then immediately stood up and followed Jonouchi out of the bar, the rest of the royal navy soon joining them. Ryou sighed in a mix of disappointment and relief as he looked around the now completely empty tavern. Having had only a moment alone with his thoughts, the door to the tavern was immediately slammed open so hard that it fell off its hinges.

“You know you’re going to have to pay for that, right?”

Ryou turned to glare at them, and saw a tall, dark skinned man with messy golden hair that stuck out in all directions like an angry pineapple. There were probably better, prettier sounding similes he could have used, but the bastard had destroyed the tavern door. He didn’t deserve a good description.

“Really?”

The stranger laughed, a bemused look in his single, purple eye. Ryou gulped. The Mutos hadn’t given the best description of his appearance, but knowing his luck, the messy haired, one eyed man standing in the doorway was probably Amir. Afterall, how else would the plot move forward? Ryou stumbled backwards, afraid to break eye contact with the stranger.

“I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

He grinned, revealing sharp fangs. The man was right in front of the bar now, having moved surprisingly fast.

“I’d like to see you try!”

Ryou slammed his hands onto the counter top, trying to mask his fear with rage.

“That door was expensive and I expect you to replace it. Plus you’re scaring the other customers.”

He looked at Ryou, unimpressed.

"There aren't any other people here."

Ryou glared at him and angrily pointed towards the entrance.

“Get the hell out of my bar, Amir!”

“Oh, so you do recognise me!”

Amir laughed, grabbing Ryou’s hand and pinning it to the counter so he couldn’t escape.

“You know, I just wanted a nice drink, but you’re really starting to piss me off.”

Leaning in close, Amir grabbed a lock of Ryou’s hair and started twirling it around his finger. Ryou tried to pull back, struggling against Amir’s grip.

“All these ways of killing you are passing through my head. Do I set you on fire? Chop you up into little pieces? So many wonderful options!”

He quickly scowled, as Ryou continued to try and fight against his grasp.

“But now I’m thinking that’s too good for you.”

He pulled Ryou up over the counter, hoisting him up into the air. Ryou screamed, his legs flailing as he attempted to kick the pirate. Upon being kicked in the face, Amir dropped Ryou in surprise. Quickly scrambling to his feet, Ryou reached behind him for something, anything, to use as a weapon. Grabbing a fork, he stumbled backwards as he tried to get as far away from Amir as possible. He couldn’t die, not here, not like this. He began crying, not wanting his father to have to bury yet another one of his children. Knocking a table over in an attempt to create a distraction, he bolted out of the tavern. The tears blurring his vision, Ryou tripped over a root and fell to the ground. Looking up in fear, he saw a roaring fire spreading through the town.

“It’s marvelous, isn’t it?”

Amir quickly picked him up, this time careful to avoid Ryou’s foot.

“I’d say my crew’s done a fantastic job of creating a distraction!”

He pulled out a knife and held it to Ryou’s throat, glaring.

“Keep quiet, and maybe you’ll get to live a little longer.”

Ryou nodded slowly, though he wasn’t sure what the point was. He’d be dead either way, what was the purpose of delaying it. But to be honest, he was a bit too tired to do anything but comply. Amir smiled, twirling the knife between his fingers.

“So you’re not a complete idiot. Good to know!”

Amir dragged him to his ship, walking past the flaming buildings as if they were nothing. The bloodstained skull and crossbones flag the Mutos had told him about was proudly waving in the air. Amidst the flames Ryou could make out pirates and the royal navy fighting. A glimpse of wild multicolored hair gave him hope, and he reached out, trying to claw his way out of Amir’s grip.

“Captain Muto!”

The Captain quickly turned towards the sound of Ryou’s voice, revealing himself to be Yugi.

“Ryou!”

Yugi pushed past the pirate he was fighting, rushing towards Ryou. The knife moved closer to Ryou’s throat, and Yugi stopped.

“Let him go!”

Amir smirked, his grip on Ryou tightening.

“And why should I do that?”

He gestured to his fellow pirates, who had surrounded Yugi.

“You’re surrounded Captain, I suggest you just give up.”

He laughed in a way that implied he didn’t even begin to consider Yugi a threat.

“Tell you what, I’m a busy guy, and I’d like to get going. If you surrender, I’ll let you live!”

“Let Ryou go!”

Yugi held up his sword and lunged towards Amir, his blade quickly blocked by one of the other pirates. Amir tossed Ryou towards one of the other pirates, and unsheathed his sword.

“You really don’t know when to quit, do you?”

Part of Ryou wanted to yell something rude, preferably with swear words, as he didn’t exactly like being thrown around like a sack of potatoes, but it probably wasn’t a good idea to piss off the angry guy with a sword even further. He caught one last glimpse of Yugi’s sword clashing against Amir’s as he was dragged aboard.

Hidden below the deck, a knife against his throat and a gun aimed at his back, Ryou cried. He was doing an awful lot of it lately, which he wasn’t particularly proud of. But he figured that if there was any situation that justified crying, it was being kidnapped by pirates. He had no idea how long it had been since he was brought onto Amir’s ship, but given that it was still anchored, it couldn’t have been more than an hour, and even that was pushing it. He wasn’t sitting in a particularly comfortable position, and the rope around his hands was starting to itch. He wished it was possible to leave a negative review about kidnapping experiences. “1 star, the rope was itchy and the gun pointed at my back made it impossible to sit comfortably.” It was completely ridiculous of course. You’re being kidnapped, it’s supposed to be uncomfortable. But as scared for his life as he was, he was also bored. And bored minds tend to not take things as seriously as they should. He wondered when Amir would return. Or hopefully Yugi, having vanquished the dreaded pirate captain and come to rescue him. The sound of Amir bursting into the room showed that that was far too much to hope for. A wild grin on his face, he motioned for the pirate with the knife to move so that he could get a good look at Ryou.

“Why the long face, _Ryou_?”

Something about the way Amir said his name made him extremely uncomfortable. He scootched backwards, which turned out to be a bad idea, as it resulted in the gun being pressed directly against him.

“I don’t know, maybe because you killed my friend and now you’re going to kill me?”

Amir laughed.

“Don’t worry the kid’s not dead, _yet_. A bunch of other navy scum showed up and I decided to leave. After all, I already got what I wanted!”

He reached forward, pushing up Ryou’s chin, forcing him to look him in the eye.

“And you’re not going to die.”

“I’m not?”

“No, I want you to suffer. Death is far, far too merciful for you, Tozokou.”


	2. A Wonderful Name For a Parrot

Yugi desperately paced back and forth across the room, his hand ready to pull out his sword, just in case. For a fight with someone like Amir, he’d gotten off surprisingly easy, just a couple of minor scrapes and bruises. But he didn’t care about his own health when Ryou was still missing. It wasn’t fair, Ryou was just an innocent bystander. Why’d he have to be dragged into this? He continued pacing, growing increasingly stir crazy with each moment that Ryou was gone. They had tried to leave in pursuit of Amir right away, but they quickly discovered that the fire wasn’t the only obstacle in the way of that. All of their supplies had been destroyed beyond repair, giving the pirates a head start while he and his brother had to figure out what to do. They did manage to get going eventually, but Yugi really, really wished they could have immediately followed after them. The only thing that was keeping his hope alive was the fact that the story wasn’t tagged major character death.

“You okay, Captain?”

Yugi looked up to see Honda standing in the doorway, a concerned look on his face. Nervously pushing his bangs out of his eyes, he smiled in an extremely awkward attempt to look okay.

“I’m fine!”

He winced upon realising that he accidentally yelled his response. His posture stiffened as he tried to convince Honda that everything was going to be okay.

“I mean, I’m fine and there’s absolutely nothing wrong so you can just leave.”

Honda looked at him, unimpressed.

“Look Captain, it’s okay to be worried. One of your friends has been kidnapped, Amir’s suddenly returned, and we have basically no idea where to find them. You’re my Captain, but you’re also my friend. And friends trust each other with their emotions. You don’t have to bottle this up.”

Yugi hesitated, then looked up towards Honda.

“I’m always the optimistic one, the one everyone can count on to find the bright side, to keep morale up. I can’t let everyone down now.”

“You’re not letting anyone down. And even if you were, your feelings matter too. You shouldn’t prioritise others over yourself.”

Yugi reached up to wipe away his tears with his sleeve.

“Thanks.”

Honda reached out a hand to comfort Yugi.

“I’m just worried about Ryou. He’s all alone with Amir, what if we’re not able to save him?”

The door burst open loudly, a certain blonde having completely ruined the mood of the scene.

“Hey! We’ve arrived!”

Honda looked at Jonouchi, raising one eyebrow.

“And where exactly have we arrived? Seriously, nobody actually told me where we we’re going beyond a vague, ‘we need to go rescue some guy from Amir’. And I’m pretty sure if we’d actually found Amir’s ship we’d be hearing a lot more cannons.”

He turned towards Yugi, who shrugged.

“I wasn’t told either.”

Jonouchi looked at the two, realised they were being serious, then face palmed.

“Okay, so I’m going to need to have a conversation with Captain Atem about communication.”

He sighed, straightening his jacket.

“As I told the Captains back before the whole kidnapping incident, there’s someone who has information on where Amir’s hideout is. They agreed to meet us.”

Honda glanced towards Yugi, who nodded, confirming what Jonouchi had said.

“Alright, where exactly are we meeting them?”

“Burger Admiral.”

Jonouchi grinned, while Honda continued to look unimpressed.

“Look, that was the location they specifically requested!”

Atem pushed open the door to the Burger Admiral, Yugi, Jonouchi and Honda following behind. Out of the corner of his eye, Yugi noticed some suspicious looking figures loitering outside, which given the lack of detail in the narration, were probably important. Honda and Jonouchi went to go buy some food (Atem had insisted, declaring that loitering was a very serious crime) while Atem and Yugi went to grab a table. Sliding into the booth next to his brother, Yugi glanced around the restaurant, looking for whoever this person was. He had no idea what they looked like, but this turned out not to be a problem. The most suspicious man Yugi had ever seen walked up to their table and sat down. He was dressed head to toe in all black, an eyepatch on his left eye, a pirate hat on his shoulder, and a parrot on his head. To be honest, Yugi wouldn’t have been surprised if he wore a t-shirt that said “Hello I am a pirate” on it. Closer inspection revealed that he was. Yugi raised one eyebrow, glaring at the pirate.

“Really?”

The man blinked, then looked down at his clothes.

“Oh yeah! I forgot I was wearing this shirt. Don’t worry, I’m wearing it ironically.”

Atem elbowed Yugi in the ribs, glaring.

“Don’t judge him so quickly. I’m sure he is a perfectly respectable member of society.”

The man grinned, placing a bag of fast food on the table.

“Yeah! What he said!”

Atem looked towards the bag, then back up towards him.

“This is for Tozo … uh, my boss! He got banned from Burger Admiral for perfectly normal reasons that did not involve trying to murder anyone, so he sent me to go get his lunch. That’s why I asked you guys to meet me here.”

Yugi looked towards his brother again, frustrated with how dense he was being.

“Tozo uh my boss sure is a strange name, isn’t it, Atem?”

Atem gasped.

“Yugi! Don’t make fun of people’s names! Sir, I am so sorry that my brother is being so rude. Is there any way we can make it up to you?”

“No, it’s fine. Let’s just get to the matter at hand.”

“Ah yes, you said you had a map to Amir’s hideout.”

He nodded, pulling out the map. Just as he was about to show it to them, Jonouchi and Honda appeared, carrying trays of food. As Jonouchi placed the burgers on the table, Honda stared at the man sitting opposite Atem and Yugi.

“Uh Captains, is this the informant?”

Atem nodded.

“Yes, this upstanding gentleman was just about to show us the map to Amir’s hideout.”

“Captain Atem, he’s wearing a pirate hat. On his shoulder for some reason.”

He turned to face Honda, the hat falling off his shoulder.

“It’s called fashion.”

“Atem! He’s got a parrot! He’s clearly a pirate!”

Atem glared at Honda.

“Really? You’re discriminating against pet owners now? It’s bad enough that Yugi’s being so rude, and now I have to deal with you too!”

The parrot turned towards Honda, looking just as offended as Atem.

The “totally not a pirate” began to stand up.

“I guess I’m just not wanted here.”

He began to walk away, the parrot still glaring at Honda.

“Squawk! I’m an evil pirate who works for Tozokou! Squawk!”

Honda, Jonouchi, and Yugi stared at the bird in disbelief as Atem chased after him.

“Wait! I’m so sorry about that. We really got off on the wrong foot, didn’t we, Honda.”

Atem glared at Honda, then turned his focus back towards the man.

“I’m Atem. And you are?”

“Greg. I’m Greg. And I’m definitely not an evil pirate who works for Tozokou. I have absolutely no idea why Lord Bartholomew the Third would say that.”

“You named your parrot Lord Bartholomew the Third?”

Atem glared at Honda again, who quickly shut up.

“That’s a wonderful name for a parrot!”

Yugi turned away from their conversation, frustrated at how oblivious his brother was. Why did Atem think he could trust this guy? Looking out of the window he saw the two suspicious individuals from earlier. They were watching Atem and Greg’s conversation, clearly trying to listen in. Yugi’s hand reached for his sword when he realised who they were. Malik Ishtar and Tozokou. Jonouchi reached towards Yugi, stopping him from drawing his weapon.

“Jonouchi, it’s Malik and Tozokou. I saw them outside.”

Jonouchi nodded, but refused to move his hand away from Yugi’s scabbard.

“I know, but I don’t think starting a fight is the wisest decision right now. This map is our only lead for finding Ryou.”

Yugi hesitated, then let go of his sword’s hilt.

“I know Atem’s a bit too trusting, but it looks like it’s working out. We’ll get the map, and then we can find Amir.”

He sighed, reaching for one of the burgers on the table.

“Tozokou does need to be stopped, but rescuing Ryou from Amir is our top priority.”

“You’re right. We need to save Ryou. He must be so scared and helpless.”

Yugi turned his focus back towards Atem and Greg’s conversation.

“Anyway, I hate to ask, but we really need that map. Our friend, Ryou was kidnapped by the dread pirate Amir and we’re trying to rescue him.”

A quick glance towards the eavesdroppers revealed that Tozokou was definitely intrigued by something Atem had said. Pressing up against the glass, the pirate desperately gestured in an attempt to get Greg to ask Atem to continue this line of thought. Greg nodded at Tozokou, then turned back to Atem.

“Who’s Amir?”

Tozokou proceeded to facepalm, while Atem stood in confusion.

“I thought you had a map to his hideout? That’s why we met here.”

Greg looked back at his boss, to see that Tozokou was currently trying to pull all his hair out. Realization dawning on him, he quickly tried to correct his blunder.

“Yes, I did say that! I was just um … testing you! And congratulations, you passed with flying colors.”

Yugi turned back towards Jonouchi.

“Are you sure Atem knows what he's doing?”

Jonouchi paused, hesitating.

“Yes?”

Yugi raised one eyebrow, unimpressed.

“Jonouchi, why was that a question?”

Jonouchi sighed, then shrugged.

“Look, Atem’s a Captain for a reason. So I trust his judgement.”

“I’m a Captain too, don’t you trust me? And I say that this is clearly a waste of time. Neither side of this conversation has any clue what they’re doing.”

“Captain Yugi, he’s your brother. Trust him, okay?”

Yugi muttered an okay in response, but he still wasn’t very sure that they’d actually get the map. Greg was glancing out the window again, trying to decipher what Tozokou had really wanted him to ask.

“What’s a kidnapping?”

Yugi felt a pang of sympathy for Tozokou as he watched his frustration at Greg’s complete and utter obliviousness. Turning back towards Atem and Greg, he saw that Atem wasn’t much better. Was his brother really reading from the dictionary?”

“It’s ‘an act or instance or the crime of seizing, confining, inveigling, abducting, or carrying away a person by force or fraud often with a demand for ransom or in furtherance of another crime’, at least according to Merriam-Webster.”

Greg paused, for a moment, still trying to puzzle together Tozokou’s intentions.

“Yeah, I already knew that. It was another test. Which you passed. With flying colors.”

Apparently not ready for Greg to ask about everything Atem had said, Tozokou began writing on a scrap of paper, which he proceeded to hold up to the window. Seeing the paper, it finally clicked, and Greg turned back towards Atem, a confident grin on his face.

“Who’s Ryou?”

Atem looked at him, wondering if they would ever get back to the map part of the conversation, but obliged him anyway.

“He’s a bartender in Domino. It’s a funny coincidence, but he actually looks a lot like Tozokou. But way less evil.”

Tozokou gave Greg a thumbs up, then he and Malik walked away.

“Thanks, um here’s the map I promised.”

Greg shoved the map into Atem’s hands, then bolted out of the door to follow the other pirates.

“Squawk! Looks a lot like Tozokou! Squawk!”


	3. Seeking Vengeance From Beyond the Grave

The three of them were currently sprinting as fast as they could across the Burger Admiral parking lot, which Bakura had to admit wasn’t exactly the most impressive dramatic exit. They stopped upon finding their getaway carriage, which was equally unimpressive, as it was being driven by Greg’s mom. Piling into the tiny carriage, he was frustrated to find Greg sitting between him and Malik. There was a lot he had learned from the conversation he had eavesdropped on in the previous chapter that he needed to discuss with his first mate. Or at least, three things. One, Amir was very much  _ not _ dead, unless Adam had neglected to mention that he was a zombie pirate, seeking vengeance from beyond the grave. Two, Ryou had been kidnapped. As much as he liked his image as the terrifying Pirate King, he couldn’t let his little brother get hurt. Hopefully he’d come up with some excuse for why “Tozokou” wanted to rescue a random bartender. And three, Greg was a complete idiot, why on Earth did he hire him?

“Hey Tozokou, why did we do that?”

Bakura turned to face Malik, which was a bit awkward with Greg in the way.

“Do what?”

“Give the Mutos a map to Amir’s hideout? How does that benefit us in any way?”

“Oh, the map’s fake. That way we can go after him without the navy getting in the way!”

Bakura grinned his signature cocky grin, which he was particularly proud of. Unfortunately Malik couldn’t see it, because  _ someone _ had decided to sit in the middle rather than upfront. Who legitimately preferred the middle seat? Why would you want to be stuck between two other people? Part of him wanted to believe it was a deliberate act of malice, but there was no way Greg was intelligent enough to have planned this.

“Wait, the map was supposed to be a fake?”

Both Malik and Bakura simultaneously facepalmed.

The rest of the ride back to the boat was spent arguing about this. Malik and Greg blamed Bakura for not actually telling him that the map should have been a fake, while Bakura claimed it should have been obvious.

He slammed the door to his room closed, angry at basically everyone. Of course they’d all think it was his fault. They claimed he had “a stubborn refusal to ever tell anyone anything”. Well, he shouldn’t need to tell them anything! They should just know! And on top of all that, Greg had forgotten Bakura’s lunch when he fled the Burger Admiral! Collapsing into a chair, he held his face in his hands. What was he going to do now? His plan to get the navy out of the way had completely failed, and now he had to deal with Ryou being kidnapped as well. His little brother was probably so scared, and Bakura didn’t trust the navy to do a good job with their rescue mission. He leaned back in his chair, sighing in defeat. He felt cornered, and he didn’t like that. Bakura wasn’t used to being unable to just do whatever he wanted. Stupid Ryou and his stupid ability to make Bakura feel guilty! He was a pirate, he didn’t owe people anything, and he certainly didn’t go around saving people.

“Tozokou?”

Looking up to see Malik standing in the doorway, he breathed a sigh of relief. Though he mostly just wanted to sulk in his room alone, he preferred talking to Malik over literally anyone else.

“You know, there’s no one else here. You can use my real name.”

Malik nodded, then closed the door behind him.

“Bakura, we need to talk.”

Well, that certainly wasn’t a good indicator for this conversation.

“Okay, maybe I should have mentioned that map was supposed to be a fake, but — ”

“Bakura.”

“And okay, I have trouble explaining things, and talking to people in general-”

“Bakura!”

“But just give me a chance to — ”

“Bakura, I’m not breaking up with you!”

After what felt like several minutes of awkward silence (but was really only a couple of seconds), Bakura muttered a small “oh”.

“Look, you’re a very secretive person, I get it. You made a mistake, but we’ll figure this out.”

Sitting down in a chair next to Bakura, Malik smiled softly to reassure him.

“But that’s not why I wanted to talk to you.”

Pushing a strand of hair away from his face, he looked Bakura in the eyes.

“Who is Ryou?”

Okay, that was better than them breaking up, but still wasn’t a conversation he was looking forward to having. He scoffed, trying to look as uninterested as possible.

“He’s just some random bartender. You already heard that from Alex!”

Malik sighed, then spoke in a tone that made it clear that Bakura’s attempt at appearing uninterested was a complete failure.

“First off his name’s Atem, not Alex. Second, why do you care so much about a random bartender?”

“Alex, Aardvark, what’s the difference?”

“Don’t try to change the subject Bakura.”

Malik paused, shifting awkwardly in his chair.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, I understand. You’re not the only pirate with a mysterious backstory they really don’t want to discuss.”

He laughed nervously, trying (and failing) to relieve the tension in the room.

“But I just want a reason. I want to know you’re okay, that you’re not just bottling up everything and hoping nobody will notice. Because I notice, and I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

He reached his hand out towards Bakura, resting it on top of Bakura’s.

“Because I love you, okay? Just give me one reason why you’re so worried about this Ryou person, and then I’ll drop the subject. You don’t have to go in depth if you don’t want to.”

He laughed again, more genuine this time, but still not quite the kind of laugh you’d make when you’re legitimately happy and smiling.

“Heck, I’d accept ‘he makes good drinks’, as long as it’s genuine.”

Malik smiled, encouraging Bakura.

“He —”

Bakura paused, wanting to tell Malik but not quite confident enough to do so. He was Tozokou, the Pirate King, and he hated any reminder of who he used to be. He’d been a weak, pathetic, useless nobody. And he never wanted to go back to that. He was ashamed, embarrassed of his past and had severed all connections between him and his family. Back in Domino they thought he was dead, and in a way, he was. He was a feared pirate captain, the whiny little kid working at his father’s tavern was long gone. Bakura had buried his past, his old identity years ago.

But then there was Malik. He was energetic, confident, everything Bakura wished that he, that Tozokou could be. It was mere chance that led to them working together, merely an opportunity for Malik to get revenge after his brother had marooned him on an island. At least, that’s what he’d told himself back then. Because their partnership didn’t end when they tried (and failed) to confront Amir. Because neither of them wanted it to end. Malik encouraged him, pushed him to be stronger. Bakura gave Malik hope that there were still things left fighting for, that there were still adventures to be had. They fell in love, and he had revealed his name. Malik was the one person to know him as Bakura, not Tozokou. 

And he wanted to tell Malik more, he really did. But a part of him just couldn’t. He couldn’t admit to Malik that he was a nobody, that his past he was so desperate to distance himself from was absolutely nothing. He’d seen the scars on Malik’s back, the panic attacks he’d have when the lights went out, the way he’d completely freeze up at any mention of his parents. Whatever had happened in Malik’s past, it was clearly bad. Compared to him, Bakura was just an angry kid throwing a temper tantrum.

But, Ryou was kidnapped. As content as Bakura was to continue distancing himself from everything and everyone he left behind in Domino, he couldn’t lose his little brother. And given that “canon typical violence” ran on a scale from being punched to having the skin cut off of your back with a knife, the lack of main character death wasn’t enough to reassure him that Ryou would be okay.

“If you don’t want to talk, it’s fine.”

Malik stood up heading towards the door as he tried to awkwardly reassure him.

“Wait! Don’t go.”

Bakura grabbed Malik's hand, pulling gently to stop him from leaving.

“Please, please, don’t go.”

He looked up at Malik, not letting go of his hand.

“Please, I just … I just need a moment.”

Malik nodded slowly, moving to comfort Bakura, as he’d done so many times for Malik.

“Ryou, he … he’s …”

Malik didn’t respond, understanding that Bakura just needed time to get the words out.

“Look, my past isn’t anything crazy. I just ran away from home to be a pirate, to have a life of adventure and excitement.”

He laughed in an attempt to hold back tears.

“I don’t like talking about it, because I don’t like being reminded of how much of a nobody I was.”

His grip on Malik’s hand tightened as he finally managed to say what he’d been trying to.

“Ryou’s my brother.”

No longer able to stop himself, tears began welling up in his eyes.

“I left him behind, along with everything else.”

He hugged Malik tightly, his face burning as he cried.

“But I can’t in good conscience let my little brother get hurt!”

He slowly stood up, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

“It’s pathetic, isn’t it? I’m the Pirate King, I’m Tozokou, yet here I am, crying over some random bartender.”

Malik finally spoke, reaching for a tissue for Bakura’s tears.

“It’s not, Bakura. You’re human, just like everyone else. You’re allowed to care.”

Adjusting his hat, Malik grinned.

“Now come on, we’ve got a random bartender to rescue, Tozokou!”


End file.
